Is anyone from my INS class even on the web?

It would certainly make you wonder. I have been typing away at this blog for nearly a year...and so far as I know...not a single person from IOBTC 126 has ever read it. I would have thought in this day and age most people were online at some time. To my knowledge...none have ever left even anonymous comments to my postings. I wonder what gives here? Maybe they just don't have the time. It seems strange though...as I would have thought at the very least...someone would have laid in a barrage of hate mail against me. So...if you are out there...Class IOBTC 126...go ahead and fire away. I can take it. Of course...I would rather find at least neutral comments...who wouldn't?

I know people read this thing...but since all are anonymous...could be anyone. It's OK...I am not going to respond to anyone with venom. It would be nice to know how everyone is doing...nearly 14 years after graduation. Are you still with CBP? Have you moved on elsewhere? Since my back injury at TSA...I have little to look foward to except my blog and the few hobbies I have.
Don't be shy...I certainly am not.

If you have visited this blog...I want to say "thanks" I really appreciate it. Drop by anytime.

And if you are Alma or Eloisa...please feel free to unload if you want to. I deserve whatever comments you have...so let me have it!

And if you are Alma...well...what can I say. I still can't stop loving you. Of course...you already know that...especially if you have read many of the postings I have put on this blog.

Hmmm....Alma...what a great name. I still owe you a fishing trip...in case you have forgotten.

Sigh................

Down and out in Long Beach - The bully pulpit.

How good does it feel to live in the 6th poorest city in America? That is what Long Beach is rated at according to a recent study. The number one place is Fresno...no wonder...have you ever been to Fresno? Well, if I am any kind of indication...Long Beach fits me to a tee. I guess I am just a good representative of those statistics.

Pretty sad when you consider I am just 4 blocks from the beach. The nasty, cold and polluted beach. I can see from my window the daily grind of life...the drugs and tweakers...the hookers...the homeless. I don't need to go to LA's skid row...I have front row seats right here.

This place is a real dump hole. People packed in like sardines all around...and no place to park without the parking NAZI's harassing you. Just last week my car was towed away again...in front of my own small garage I rent? That cost me a cool 150 bucks! Thank god I live upstairs...at least the criminals can't sneak in a side window at night.

Of course no one ever owns up from being in the "bad" part of Long Beach. Most say they are from Belmont Shore...or a few other select communities. Well...I can say with pride...I am definately on the wrong side of the tracks. I can't even begin to say how many traffic accidents I have witnessed at the intersection below. A couple of dozen would be a good guess.

So why do I still live in this "prime crime" spot. Show me anywhere else I can rent a 1 bedroom apartment for $450 a month just 4 blocks from the beach. That's why. Sure...dealing with gangbangers and cholos are a headache...but what are you going to do?

Just think...if I were still with the the INS/CBP...I would probably be hitting about 70K per year. I definately would not be stuck here. So here I sit...year after year...because I can't afford to leave. My back is screwed up and I am 46...not that many opportunities for decent paying employment. Thank you INS and thank you TSA. So gather your poor, tired and huddled masses. The City of Long Beach welcomes you. I know I am down and out in Long Beach. I can hardly wait to get my own shopping cart...fill it with all of my worldly goods...and hit the local dumpsters and trash bins looking for the next meal. I just hope all the good sleeping spots under the local bridges are not taken up.

Satirical...yes...but not out of the realm of possibilities. Years of conflict with the government can drive anyone underground. Being shunned and ignored is no fun. Being an outcast can drive even the best person to thier limits. Worst of all...going year after year unforgiven by the one you love[d]...is condemnation to an earthly hell.

It has been almost 14 years since I flushed my life down the toilet. I can hardly wait to see what the next 14 have in store...provided I live that long. God bless America...yeah...right.

This puppy belongs to a friend's daughter. He got it just about 6 weeks old for her. That is one evil looking pup...check out those eyes!  

October in the high San Gabriel mountains. I took this pic just a couple of miles from Crystal Lake. Fresh clean air...not the crap down in Los Angeles. Ahhhh!  

It was rather startling to see this white yucca bush amid the charred remains of an earlier fire.  

Near Crystal Lake in the San Gabriel Mountains. This is all that was left of a house after a wildfire burned the area several years ago.